Sara's Table Sara McKinnon

Ingredients

Sauce:

3-4 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, finally diced

2 cloves garlic, diced

7-10 Fresh Tomatoes, roughly chopped (if fresh are not in season, use 2 large cans of diced tomatoes.)

2 teaspoons dried oregano

2 teaspoons dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

1 star anise seed

½ cup red wine

½ lb ground beef

½ lb ground pork

1 teaspoon fennel seed

bunch of fresh herbs, chopped (parsley, basil, mint, oregano)

 

For the Lasagna:

12 lasagna sheets (either use cook or non-cook)

1 15oz ricotta container (if you don’t like ricotta, use cottage cheese, strained), seasoned with salt and pepper.

1 lb mozzarella, grated

2 cups shredded Parmesan or pecorino Romano

 

Directions

For the sauce, heat oil in a large heavy Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, herbs and spices and cook, stirring, for 10 minutes, until the onions are wilted. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Raise heat slightly, crush the tomatoes into the pan. Add the wine and cook for an hour, stirring occasionally and tasting for seasoning. Add spices, salt and pepper as necessary.

In a sauté pan, add 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil and then combine the beef, pork and fennel seed, cooking until browned all the way through. Season generously with salt and pepper.

Transfer the meat mixture to the sauce after the sauce is cooked all the way through. Add in the bunch of fresh chopped herbs. Set aside.

If using ricotta, mix the ricotta with salt, pepper, and mix with Italian herbs or minced garlic if you want an extra bold flavor.

Heat the oven to 375.

If necessary, cook the noodles, al dente.

Straining out the meat for this first part, spoon a thick layer of sauce into the bottom of a greased 9-by-9-inch lasagna pan. Cover with a layer of noodles. Spoon more sauce (this time with the meat) on top, then add ricotta, mozzarella and Parmesan. Repeat for 2 more layers, using all the meat and cheese. Top with a layer of noodles, and cover with the remaining sauce. Sprinkle reserved mozzarella and Parmesan evenly over the top. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until it is brown on top and bubbling. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Ingredients

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup packed brown sugar

¾ cup peanut butter

¼ cup butter or margarine, softened

1 egg

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

¾ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

 

Directions

Mix sugars, peanut butter, shortening, butter and egg in large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and refrigerate until firm.

Heat oven to 375ºF.

Shape dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. Place about 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten in crisscross pattern with fork dipped into sugar. Bake 9 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 5 minutes; remove from cookie sheet. Cool on wire rack.

Recipe adapted from https://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/peanut-butter-cookies/6aa18699-bad1-442a-97bf-388003acce2d

 

Ingredients

For the crust you’ll need (This recipe makes a double crust):

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

20 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes

4-12 tablespoons ice water, as needed

For the filling you’ll need:

6-8 large mangoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch to 3/4-inch slices

1/4-1/2 cup sugar (depending on how sweet the mangoes are)

1 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

3 tablespoons flour

3 tablespoons lime juice

1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water to make an egg wash

Directions

In a food processor or with your hands, mix together the flour and salt. Add butter and mix until the mixture forms lima bean-size pieces. Slowly add ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and mix until the dough just comes together. It should be moist, but not wet. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gather into a ball. Flatten into a disk with the heel of your hand. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.

Preheat the oven to 450

Just before you are ready to roll out the dough, cut the mangos and, in a large bowl, mix them with the sugar, ginger, flour, and lime juice.

Roll out the first half of the dough and lay into a pie plate. Pour in the filling. Roll out the second half of the dough and cover the pie. Crimp to seal the edges. Cut a few slits in the top of the pie to serve as vent holes. Brush with egg wash. Place the pie on the heated baking sheet in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Lower the heat to 350 degrees and continue baking for another 50-55 minutes, until golden. If the edges are browning too fast, you can cover them with foil. Cool for an hour before serving. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Adapted from: http://thewoksoflife.com/2014/05/mango-pie/

Ingredients

2 large oranges

6 eggs

½ pound ground almonds

½ pound sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

 

Preparation

Wash the oranges and simmer them, unpeeled, in water to cover for 2 hours. Cool, cut them open and remove the seeds. Puree the oranges, including the peel, in a food processor.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Beat the eggs in a food processor or large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients, including the orange puree, and mix thoroughly. Pour into a buttered and floured cake tin, with a removable base if possible.

Bake for one hour, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the tin before turning out.

From: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/3251-claudia-rodens-orange-and-almond-cake

Ingredients

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pie plate 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

1 large egg

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 pound strawberries, hulled and halved

Directions



* Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10-inch pie plate. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together into a medium bowl.



 



* Put butter and 1 cup sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-low; mix in egg, milk, and vanilla.







* Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour mixture. Transfer batter to buttered pie plate. Arrange strawberries on top of batter, cut sides down and as close together as possible. Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons sugar over berries.



 



* Bake cake 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Bake until cake is golden brown and firm to the touch, about 1 hour. Let cool in pie plate on a wire rack. Cut into wedges.



 

From: http://www.marthastewart.com/336020/strawberry-cake

Ingredients for Crust

1 cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 stick cold unsalted butter (1/4 pound), cut in 1/8-inch pieces

3 tablespoons ice water

 

Ingredients for Tarte Filling

5-7 eggs, whisked

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Sliced or shredded gruyere cheese (enough to cover the bottom of the tarte crust)

2-3 Tomatoes, sliced

Herb de Provence

 

Crust Preparation

Put flour and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer or food processor. Add butter and quickly cut it into flour until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add ice water and mix briefly, about 30 seconds, to form a soft dough. Remove dough, shape into a thick disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Bring to cool room temperature before rolling.

To roll, lightly flour dough and counter. Roll out gradually, periodically letting dough rest for a moment before continuing. This makes rolling easier and will keep dough from shrinking back during baking.

Roll dough to a thin round approximately 13 inches in diameter, then lay dough in your tarte pan, letting it relax a bit. Fold the edges back inside to make a double thickness, then press firmly against the pan so the finished edge is slightly higher than the pan.

Tarte Preparation

Broil the slices of tomatoes on a greased cooking sheet, sprinkling each generously with herb de provence and salt. They should get soft and caramelize slightly on the edges.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Whisk the eggs and the salt together in a bowl and set aside. Once the crust is in the pan you can gently spread the Dijon mustard over the bottom and then lay or sprinkle the Gruyere cheese on top of that. Pour in the egg mixture into the crust and bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until it is browned on top and done in the middle. At about 15 minutes in, take the tart out and arrange the broiled slices of tomatoes into the tarte. Place the tarte back into the oven to cook for the remaining time.